Hyperopia
Hyperopia occurs when the eye is too short from front to
back, that is, when the eyeball is too small. This causes
the rays of light to focus behind the retina. Most of us are
born hyperopic but most of us outgrow it as our eyeball
grows in length. Before the mid 30's, the
human lens inside our eye is very flexible and can focus
(accommodate), thus allowing a hyperopic person to see just
fine without glasses.
If the amount of hyperopia is too great, the constant
focusing of the human lens can cause eye fatigue or eye
strain. If this is problem, glasses can be prescribed to
alleviate the strain. Certain eye conditions such as
the eyes turning inward (accommodative esotropia) and in
rare cases glaucoma can be associated with hyperopia.
By the late 30’s to mid 40’s, most people with hyperopia
have not only difficulty seeing up close due to
presbyopia, but since the human lens is so inflexible at
that age, they also can no longer focus at distance. At
this age bifocals are increasingly necessary. Other than
glasses, laser refractive surgery, such as
LASIK, can
also correct small amounts of hyperopia.
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